


Ominous Onichan

by RockSunner



Series: Smart Adversaries AU [44]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bittersweet Ending, Butterfly!Marinette, Chat Noir Reveal, Episode: s03 Oni-Chan, F/M, Identity Reveal, Jealousy, Ladybug Reveal, Lila Rossi gets consequences, Onichan spoilers, Rivalry, Romance, Teleportation, Transformation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-11
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-03-01 04:59:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18793495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RockSunner/pseuds/RockSunner
Summary: What if Lila had taken a picture of Marinette among the trash bins and sent it to everyone?





	1. Trashed

Marinette was about to leave Ms. Bustier's class when Adrien came back in. He looked up at the back row where Lila was sitting and he didn't seem to see Marinette. She ducked down behind a desk, out of sight.

"Lila, Nino explained everything to me," said Adrien. "If you want I can give you a hand with your homework."

Lila clasped her hands with her usual insincere gush of thanks.

"Really? You'd do that for me? You're an amazing guy, Adrien. You're a lifesaver, really!"

"Happy to help."

Marinette kept low and sneaked to the back of the room to spy on them.

Alya saw what she was up to and followed, whispering: "Marinette..."

Marinette jabbered her excuse: "Uh, I'm totally not spying on Lila at all! It just that... my shoelace is untied."

"There's no reason to worry," said Alya. "Nino told me that Lila told him she's not in love with Adrien."

Marinette discounted that instantly since it came from Lila. She listened intently to the conversation between Lila and Adrien.

"Why don't we go do our homework at your place? It'll be quieter there, don't you think?" asked Lila.

"My father will never agree," said Adrien.

"Hmm, I bet you I can change his mind," said Lila, dragging Adrien out of the room.

"Marinette, wait!" Alya called, but it was too late to stop Marinette from running after them.

* * *

Marinette and Alya watched from the entrance of the school as Adrien's driver held up a hand to stop Lila.

"Adrien's bodyguard will never let her get in the car," said Marinette.

They listened as Lila made up something about having to work in pairs on an assignment.

They watched as the bodyguard opened the car door for her. Lila got in.

"You've got to be kidding me!" said Marinette.

Marinette ran down the stairs to the street.

"No way, you're not going to follow them, are you?" asked Alya.

"Of course not!" said Marinette. "It's just, I have to go... buy myself some shoelaces!"

"And she calls Lila a liar," Alya muttered to herself.

Marinette ran off after the car. She spotted Juleka getting on her bike.

"Wait, Juleka! Let me borrow your bike, quick! It's really super urgent!" said Marinette.

Marinette handed off her pink backpack, took Jukeka's helmet, and jumped on the bike.

"Uh... Yeah, okay," said Juleka.

* * *

"Marinette, you should trust Adrian!" called Tikki from Marinette's purse as it whipped out behind her on the high-speed chase. "He knows Lila lies all the time."

"Yeah, I know," said Marinette. "But if she keeps lying like this, she'll end up hurting someone! I refuse to let her harm Adrien."

Marinette followed them to the gates of the Agreste Mansion, but when the gates closed in front of her she swerved and crashed.

Juleka's bike didn't look too badly damaged. Leaving the bike and helmet on the sidewalk, Marinette peeked through the gate.

Nathalie was standing at the door, barring Lila's way.

"I'm sorry, Adrian, but you know your father..."

"Excuse me ma'am," said Lila "But would it be possible to ask him directly? There's no harm in trying."

"Mr. Agreste is in the middle of designing and must not be disturbed under any circumstances," said Nathalie coldly.

"You see, I told you," said Adrien.

"Oh, Adrien! I wanted so much to help you catch up on all the classes you missed because of your photo shoots. What will your father say when he finds out your grades have fallen? He'll be so disappointed."

"Adrien... Have you gotten poor grades?" asked Nathalie.

Lila rattled off a story about Adrien crying over an A minus in math, and how she wanted to help him.

"It would only have taken half an hour... But I understand, of course. You're only doing your job, Ma'am. I did what I could, Adrien. Good luck."

"If it'll only take you half an hour..." said Nathalie.

"Well, if you really insist, then I accept!" said Lila, running inside with Adrien.

"You've got to be kidding – how does she do it?" Marinette asked herself.

Marinette ran around to the blank wall behind the house. She had to find some way to climb up and see into Adrien's room. She tried jumping up and then scaling the wall barehanded, but it was useless. She could have swung up easily with her yo-yo, but she knew Tikki would scold her if she transformed for a selfish reason.

Looking around, Marinette saw six plastic rolling trash bins. There must be more of them nearby...

* * *

It took quite a while, but Marinette managed to gather twenty bins from around the neighborhood and stack them up into a tower. Now she could climb up and keep an eye on Lila.

She was just starting to climb when a firefighter pulled up in his truck.

"Miss, don't climb up there! It's dangerous!" said the firefighter.

"May I borrow your ladder? The boy I love is going to get bamboozled by a liar!"

"The big ladder is reserved for emergencies, not for middle-schoolers spying on each other. Besides, you don't have a helmet."

Marinette pouted and started to sniffle.

"She's a terribly smooth liar, and I have to save him from her!"

"This little liar is really that good?" asked the firefighter. "And you really love that boy?"

Marinette whimpered and nodded.

The firefighter sighed and went to get a long rope from his truck. He expertly looped and tied the rope around the stack of bins to stabilize them.

Finally he said, "There, now you can climb safely."

He placed a spare helmet on her head.

Marinette had just gotten to the top and started looking over when she got an email message on her phone. A glance at the image startled her enough that she lost her balance and fell. She caught herself on a rope, but then it came loose and the whole tower went over. Marinette ended up in a pile of trash bins.

"Are you hurt?" the firefighter asked.

"Just shaken up a little," said Marinette.

(The bins had broken her fall, and all the jumping around she did as Ladybug had helped her learn how to land.)

"I could get in trouble for encouraging you to make such a dangerous climb," said the firefighter. "I've got to go."

The firefighter pulled the ropes loose and wound them up. He was such an expert that he was able to do this very quickly, without any tangles. He jumped back into his truck and drove off.

* * *

Marinette was still struggling to regain her feet in the trash bins when Lila came around the corner.

Lila smirked at what she saw.

"I could take a photo and post it online..." said Lila. "But that would be much too easy..."

Lila started to walk away, then turned back.

"On the other hand, how can I resist a cheap shot?"

She took a photo, typed in a quick caption, and sent it off. She ran off snickering.

"Tikki, spots..." said Marinette.

"Don't even think about it, Marinette," said Tikki.

* * *

Kagami had finished kendo training with her bamboo shinai, supervised by her mother in the park. She rested and drank a bottled water while sitting beneath a tree.

Kagami got out her phone to look at the email she had gotten earlier. (She had not been permitted to read it while training was going on.) There were two emails, so she opened the most recent first.

It was a picture of Marinette in the middle of a pile of trash bins. The caption said, "This jealous stalker was spying on me and Adrien. She fell off her tower of bins when she saw what we were doing!"

"What they were doing?" thought Kagami. "What could that mean?"

Kagami opened the other email and saw a picture of Lila smooching Adrien on the cheek. He looked a little nervous, but he wasn't resisting.

Kagami bared her teeth and threw the phone away from her. She took a notebook out of her inner jacket pocket. It had a picture of Adrien standing next to her, clipped out of a group shot of the fencing team. There was also a pressed rose, one that Adrien had given to her.

Kagami grabbed up her shinai and slashed in rage at a nearby tree. The tree was sliced neatly across, but the bamboo blade broke apart. She sank to her knees on the ground. She held the pressed rose in her hand, weeping over the lost love it represented.

An akuma butterfly landed on the rose and it darkened. Kagami heard a voice in her mind.

"Onichan, I am Hawk Moth. I'm giving you the power to hunt down your rivals relentlessly, and to make sure they stay away forever from the one your heart desires. Adrien Agreste is too innocent to be suspicious of them, the liar and the stalker. Of course, they are manipulating Ladybug and Chat Noir to prevent you from accomplishing your mission. That's why you'll bring me their Miraculous, to punish them for their naivete."

"If he had asked me to steal their Miraculous in payment for power, that would have been dishonorable, but this is acceptable," thought Kagami.

"Yes, Hawk Moth," Kagami said aloud, and a purple cloud of transformation engulfed her.

* * *

It had taken Marinette some time to clean up the mess from the fallen trash bins. She moved all but the last few back where she had gotten them, and lined the last ones up neatly against the wall.

Marinette was just dusting off her hands, ready to leave, when a white and red figure landed on top of one of the bins. This akuma victim looked like a Japanese demon, with a white face, a red horn on its forehead, and large tusk-like teeth. She carried a long sword that looked like it was made of twisted rose vines, reminding Marinette of the vines created by Weredad.

"Marinette, I am Onichan, your worst nightmare. I am going to deal with my worse rival first, but I will be back for you. I will find you no matter where you run!"

Onichan pointed her sword and touched Marinette on the forehead. Then she leaped away.

"Tikki, may I transform now?" asked Marinette.

"Yes... but something is wrong with your head. You have a horn!" said Tikki.

Marinette felt the sharp horn now growing on her forehead. She took a hand mirror out of her purse and looked at it.

"That's her superpower, to put horns on people?" asked Marinette.

"There's more to it than that," said Tikki. "I sense powerful tracking and truth magic in it."

"Tikki, what will I do? When I transform, will the horn be hidden?"

"I'm sorry. I can't hide it."

"If I go fight her as Ladybug, it's the end of my secret identity."

"There must be something you can do."

Marinette picked up the firefighter helmet that she had stashed out of sight behind a bin. She had meant to return it to the fire station as soon as possible, but now it would come in handy.

There was no cover, but Marinette improvised. She stacked a couple of bins to hide the side view from the busy main street, then got into an empty bin to transform.

"Tikki, spots on!"

Ladybug put the helmet on and the horn was concealed.

"Now to find that horny demon!" Ladybug said to herself. "No... that didn't come out right."

Swinging her yo-yo, she took off after Onichan.


	2. Exposed

Ladybug swung around until she found Chat Noir in a furious battle with Onichan.

Lila Rossi was cowering nearby, obviously the "worse rival" that the akuma victim was after.

Ladybug landed beside Lila and pulled her by the hand, saying, "Come on, this way."

Ladybug led Lila into a nearby park, looking for a place to hide her while they fought the villain.

Lila pulled away from her.

"I don't need you!" Lila said haughtily. "I'm perfectly capable of defending myself. And why are you wearing that ridiculous fire helmet?"

"That's my business," said Ladybug, not about to explain herself to her worst enemy.

"Besides, that ugly horned girl doesn't stand a chance with Adrien."

Chat Noir came flying through the air, landing hard on the ground behind them.

"Are you really sure I don't stand a chance?" said Onichan, advancing on Lila.

Ladybug charged, but she was thrown back by a blow from the wooden sword.

It looked for a second like Lila was done for as the villain thrust her sword at her head. Instead, the sword just touched her forehead with a red burst of magic.

Lila gasped and took off running down the street.

"It's no use running," said Onichan. "Wherever you go, I'll find you."

As the two heroes stood side by side to confront Onichan, Chat Noir looked over at Ladybug.

"Have you joined the volunteer fire department, m'Lady?" asked Chat.

"It's just a fashion statement," said Ladybug facetiously.

She felt an odd sensation on her forehead and the helmet was no longer fitting as well.

"Did my horn grow?" Ladybug thought. "Tikki said something about truth magic. I have to avoid lying or it'll grow like Pinocchio's nose."

"l'll explain later," Ladybug promised.

"Let's get the akuma first," said Chat.

"It must be in her bokken," said Ladybug, using the term for a wooden practice sword used in kendo.

Ladybug fired off a yo-yo and caught the blade. An instant later, Chat Noir tried to strike the bokken with his staff, but Onichan pulled back and he only succeeded in hitting Ladybug's line, making it unwind.

Onichan stood still for a moment with her horn glowing. Ladybug and Chat Noir took advantage of the opportunity and leaped for her.

Suddenly Officer Roger was standing in her place. Ladybug and Chat Noir had to throw themselves to the side to avoid knocking him down.

"What just happened?" asked Ladybug.

"Where's my car?" asked Officer Roger. "What happened to the young lady with a horn on her forehead? The one being chased by that super villain?"

"Lila?" asked Ladybug.

"Since when did she have a horn?" asked Chat Noir.

"Onichan gave her one," said Ladybug.

* * *

They went off without any explanation to the police officer, leaping and swinging from building to building and trying to catch sight of the super villain again.

"There!" said Ladybug.

Onichan was sitting in a police car by the side of the street.

"I feel like she's taunting us," said Char.

"She won't be laughing for long," said Ladybug. "We've got her."

Ladybug's yo-yo line wrapped up the car so that the doors wouldn't open.

The demon's horn glowed again and Chat Noir's baton phone began to ring.

Chat clicked open the phone to check the message. There was a strange symbol of a red and white rose.

"What is this strange icon?" asked Chat.

In an instant, he vanished and Onichan was there in his place. Chat was inside the police car.

Onichan snarled at Ladybug. "How did you interfere with me?"

She charged at Ladybug. Ladybug jumped back, but not before the sword had connected and knocked her down. The fire helmet came off.

"So it's you! You're Adrien's stalker. I still want Lila first," said Onichan.

Ladybug was still in shock from being exposed when Onichan's horn glowed again and she vanished. In her place was Marinette's mother, Sabine Cheng.

"Ma-Madame Cheng," said Ladybug.

"I was in the bakery when a teenager with a horn came running in," said Sabine. "She said a monster was after her, so I helped her hide. Then... all of a sudden I was here."

This was really bad. Hawk Moth knew her identity and had a villain in place to attack her father!

"Lila must be at the bakery," said Ladybug. "Find somewhere to hide – you're in danger if you go back there. We'll protect your husband."

Ladybug quickly untangled her yo-yo from the car.

"Come on, Chat, we have to get to the bakery!"

They took off, talking as they went.

"Ladybug, you have a horn too?" asked Chat. "What's going on? I couldn't hear from inside the car."

"Onichan tagged me with it earlier. She can teleport to people who have one, by sending a message to the cell phone of somebody nearby. Since Lila and I both have one, it looks like it alternates between the two of us."

"That's good. Next time she comes back to us we can catch her."

"But what's really bad is it compromised my secret identity. She tagged me in civilian form, so she knows who I am."

"She'll forget once we free her from the akuma, won't she?"

"Hawk Moth can see what she sees. He knows who I am now. The bakery where Onichan is attacking belongs to my parents!"

"Marinette?" asked Chat in a shocked voice.

"Yes," said Ladybug. "I know you may be disappointed, but we'll discuss that later."

* * *

They arrived at the bakery as Lila was running away down the sidewalk.

"You guys came to my rescue even after all those nasty things I said to you?" asked Lila. "I really misjudged you, Ladybug..."

Ladybug noticed that Lila's horn was starting to grow. So she was lying, no surprise. She pushed the girl aside rather than accept a hug from her.

"I have to get into the bakery," said Ladybug. "Chat, you get Lila away from here. Don't take any phone messages, or let anyone near you take one. That's how Onichan teleports."

Ladybug found Onichan inside. She had knocked down Tom and was standing over him with her sword.

Ladybug attacked fiercely, pulling Onichan away with her yo-yo and driving her out the door.

Onichan leaped away. Ladybug wanted to pursue, but first she had to check that her father was all right. She helped him to his feet.

"Ladybug! My wife answered the phone and then 'poof' she disappeared. Then this villain showed up."

"She's just a few blocks away, safe and sound," said Ladybug. "You need to get out of here quickly. You're in danger here."

"Why am I in danger? It seemed like the villain was after the girl with the horn. She only fought me when I tried to stop her from attacking."

"Hawk Moth will be after you now, because of me. He knows who I am now... your daughter, Marinette."

"What? Marinette? It's really you?"

"Yes, it's me. I'll have to give up being Ladybug. But first I have to stop the villain before I join up with you."

"Why?"

"The super villain sends evil phone messages and swaps places with the person who looks at them. And the horns she puts on people act as a sort of cell tower."

"I just noticed. You have a horn, too!"

"Yes. That's why I have to stop her before she can use it to track me. Don't worry, I'll find a way to defeat her. Knowing how her power works, I'll use it against her."

"Marinette..."

"I'm sorry, Papa. I did something really stupid out of jealousy. That's why I failed to protect my identity and put you and Maman in danger. I have to go... please get into hiding and be safe."

Her father held out his arms and gave her a hug.

"It's all right, darling. You've been doing something wonderful, protecting the city. We'll get through this."

With tears in her eyes, Ladybug nodded. She pulled away and rushed out the door to find Onichan.


	3. Hosed

Ladybug swung around the area, but Onichan was nowhere in sight.

"She must have teleported to Lila. It's my turn next time. I'll be ready for her in case she comes back to me."

* * *

Onichan managed to teleport-swap with a bystander on the street before Chat Noir could stop him from taking the call. A brisk fight ended temporarily when Chat said that he was better than Adrien Agreste. This enraged Onichan enough that she knocked him back into a poster that Adrien had made for a fragrance.

"What are you smiling about?" Chat Noir asked his poster civilian image. He slid down, stunned.

Onichan confronted Lila. "Do you get it now? I'll hunt you down wherever you go! Give up on Adrien and I'll stop tracking your every move."

Lila went to her knees.

"All right. I'll give up... on Adrien."

Lila's horn glowed and grew a bit larger.

"You're an awesome actress, but you're lying. Your horn betrays you. It will only disappear when you have sincerely given up on Adrien."

"But how can I possibly give Adrien up?" said Lila quickly. "I love him so much. It's too hard for me, honestly. You can't ask me to do that. The only thing that could persuade me to give him up would be if you got rid of Ladybug for me."

When Lila's horn didn't grow, Onichan accepted it as the truth.

"If that's the only thing that will make you give him up, I'll do it."

Onichan could have tried teleporting directly to Ladybug, but she realized Ladybug might be ready for her. She leaped back toward the vicinity of the bakery, and found a vantage point on a high window ledge.

Onichan focused her mind on Ladybug, and the tracking spell activated.

* * *

Ladybug had positioned herself near a bystander with a phone. When it rang, and the woman answered it , she took the risk of lassoing the civilian with her yo-yo. If this was just a normal call, she would have some explaining to do.

Onichan appeared in the woman's place.

"I've got you!" Ladybug said to Onichan. "You jumped right into my trap!"

"Look up," said Onichan, pointing with her horn.

"Help!" shouted the woman from a window ledge. "What am I doing up here? I'm going to fall!"

Ladybug was forced to release her yo-yo in order to swing up and rescue the innocent bystander.

"I'm sorry about that, Ma'am."

Ladybug set her down safely on a flat rooftop and returned to fight the villain.

Onichan attacked fiercely. Ladybug was forced back, defending herself from the sword blows and thrusts by spinning her yo-yo as a shield. Finally she was able to spin the yo-yo hard enough to knock the villain back.

"I'm going to need a helping hand here," said Ladybug. "Lucky Charm!"

Ladybug got a coil of stiff hose, but before she could catch it Onichan snatched it away. In an instant Onichan turned it into a lasso and caught Ladybug, tying her to a light pole.

"You've been hosed, Ladybug. Adrien will be mine now, forever!"

Onichan came close to Ladybug and reached for her right earring.

"No!" shouted Ladybug, struggling and twisting her head away.

Hawk Moth broke in with an approving message. The telepathic communication distracted Onichan for a moment, enough for Ladybug to kick her away.

Ladybug thought quickly about how she could buy time... and maybe even do better than that.

"Why did you come back to me?" Ladybug asked. "I thought you wanted to deal with your worse rival first. Did you already 'deal with' Lila Rossi?"

Onichan said, "Lila said she would give Adrien up if I got rid of you."

"I wouldn't trust her," warned Ladybug.

"Her horn didn't grow when she said it," said Onichan.

"She's very sneaky. What were her exact words?"

"She said the only thing that could persuade her to give Adrien up is if I got rid of you for her."

"Could persuade her... that's not exactly a promise."

"It's good enough."

"She's gotten very close to Adrien. Remember that smooch picture she sent out."

Onichan's face became angry. Her horn glowed.

"No! I didn't mean to do that, not yet!" said Onichan. "I wanted to get your Miraculous first!"

"Looks like I tricked you," said Ladybug.

"I still have time to deal with you," said Onichan.

Onichan closed in on Ladybug again. Just as she was grabbing for the earrings, the firefighter who had helped Marinette earlier took her place.

"Ladybug?" said the firefighter. "How did you get yourself tied up like that?"

He went around behind Ladybug and tried to untie her.

"These hoses are so strong it once took us two whole hours to get a kid untangled."

"Really? Wait, I've got a plan."

There was a sound of a blow behind her and the firefighter fell to the ground unconscious.

Ladybug's heart sank as Hawk Moth moved in front of her.

"Ladybug! How delightful to see you like this," said Hawk Moth.

"Hawk Moth in person! This is a surprise," said Ladybug.

"I came out of my lair as soon as I realized your identity, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I wanted to catch your parents to use as hostages, but you got them into hiding too quickly."

"Too bad."

"But this is so much better. Not only can I take your Miraculous, but I can interrogate you while you're forced to tell the truth. Tell me the identity of Chat Noir."

"I don't know, and I wouldn't tell you if I did."

"After that kiss that was published on the internet, I was sure you knew."

"I may have known then, but I forgot. You can tell by my horn that I'm not lying."

"Tell me this: why were you spying on the Agreste Mansion today? You were either trying to get a peek over the wall or going through the trash."

"What does the Agreste Mansion have to do with you?"

"I'm the one asking questions. Tell me or I'll make you suffer."

"I have a crush on Adrien Agreste. I wanted to find out what Lila Rossi was trying to do."

"Aha, I suspected something like that... You're a schoolmate of his. I remember you stole a book from him once, thinking it might have his pictures."

"Yes, I took the book."

"All of that is finished now. You'll never see him again. I'll get your Miraculous and then hold you prisoner in my lair until I get Chat Noir's as well. I'll need you as part of my wish. To take a curse off someone else, there must be a new recipient as a balance."

As Hawk Moth reached for her right earring, there was a phone call on his cane. He snarled at the interruption but didn't take the call.

"Onichan is wanting to come back here," said Hawk Moth.

He face took on a butterfly-shaped mask of light.

"You have failed me," said Hawk Moth aloud as he sent the message to Onichan by telepathy. "You let yourself get tricked out of position. I have Ladybug in my power. I'll need Lila Rossi as an ally when I go after Chat Noir, so I have no further use for you. Your power is revoked."

Hawk Moth spread his arms in a gesture that removed the akuma power from Kagami.

Ladybug had an inspiration. The akuma was severed from the victim, which meant that a healing charm could be cast. At this point, no matter what had happened to the Lucky Charm, it could be summoned back into her hand in its original condition.

She focused and the Lucky Charm hose was instantly in her hand, back in a coil. She was no longer bound.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" she shouted, throwing the hose up into the air. A swarm of magical ladybugs came out to fix the damage, first swirling around and fixing her horn.

Hawk Moth grabbed Ladybug's right earring and pulled it off.

Ladybug, her costume beginning to fade, still had the speed and reflexes to snatch Hawk Moth's pin from his suit. She didn't know the exact phrase to use, but she did know the Butterfly Kwami's name. Hopefully that would be good enough.

Putting on the pin, Marinette called out: "Nooroo, transform me!"

In a dark purple costume and a silver mask, Marinette was Butterfly.

Gabriel Agreste reverted to normal. He turned and ran, still holding the one earring.

Butterfly would have followed and caught him, but her inexperienced mind was filled with the emotions of people all around her, all over the city. By the time she recovered, Gabriel was gone.

* * *

By leaping around, Butterfly found Chat Noir, Lila, and Kagami. Kagami was kneeling, still a bit stunned from being unakumatized. Lila had a long red horn, bigger than the last time Butterfly had seen it.

"Hawk Moth?" said Chat Noir. "Cata..."

"Wait, it's me, Ladybug," said Butterfly. "Hawk Moth got one of my earrings, but I got his pin."

"Ladybug, you look stunning in that new outfit," said Chat.

"Call me Butterfly."

"What have you done!" said Lila in a fury. "You lost your Ladybug powers without curing me? I still have my horn!"

"I don't know," said Butterfly. "I was in the middle of doing the cure when Hawk Moth grabbed my earring. It must have cut off the stream of ladybugs before they could get to you."

"I demand you fix me!"

"I'm sorry, I don't have the power to do another Miraculous Ladybug charm. I guess you'll just have to be careful what you say from now on, if you don't want that horn to grow any bigger."

"It's a terrible curse," said Chat Noir, "But it will keep you from hurting more people with your lies. You pretended to have an injured foot to keep me from going to help Ladybug. You should be ashamed."

"This is the truth: I hate both of you and I'll find a way to get revenge if it takes the rest of my life!" said Lila. She ran away.

"We need to talk, Chat," said Butterfly. "I know the identity of Hawk Moth."

"Tell me later. I'm going to take Kagami home now," said Chat Noir.

* * *

Marinette took the remaining Ladybug earring and the Butterfly pin to Master Fu.

"Tikki is in the earring you kept, but she is dormant," said Master Fu. "Hopefully Mr. Agreste will be caught soon and we can recover her other earring. It acts as a balance."

"How about Nooroo?" asked Marinette.

"He has been badly abused, but he will recover given time to rest."

"I guess my time as a superhero is over. My identity is compromised."

"You have done very well, Marinette. With Hawk Moth out of the picture, with the threat of akumas gone, the city will be safe again. Chat Noir, Rena Rouge, and Carapace can deal with any new menaces."

* * *

Marinette was at home after an exhausting day. It was late and she was preparing to go to bed, but she still hoped Chat Noir would drop by to talk. He knew who she was and where she lived, now.

Her cell phone rang. It was Juleka.

"Marinette, where's my bike?"

"Oh no!"


	4. Dropped

Message from Adrien to Marinette on her new private email drop.

Marinette,

I'm sorry I can't tell you this face to face. I know you and your family are in hiding until my father and and his accomplice are caught.

This is a tough time for both of us. I was Chat Noir, but I've given the Cat Miraculous back to Master Fu. It hurts to end our superhero partnership, but I can't go on now that I know about my father, even after you get your other earring back.

I haven't gone back to school and neither has Lila. She texted us that Ladybug failed her and she still has a horn from the akuma. I know that several details are false: I guess that lies that aren't spoken don't count for the horn.

I wish I could understand why you were spying behind my house. I tried to tell myself you were investigating your suspicion that my father was Hawk Moth, but the only thing you could see from there is my bedroom window. This upsets me because I've had stalkers before but I never expected it from a friend.

I have decided to take a break to get away from the press and everyone. I am going to Japan to stay with Kagami and her family.

Bye and best wishes,

Adrien


End file.
